New Zealand 2 - Quad Bikes and Hamner Springs

After a long night's rest in Christchurch, we got up early the next morning and got picked up by our guide, Vailma, in her van. She first took us to Thrillseekers Canyon where we rented Quad Bikes (4-wheelers) and drove them around for a while.


We went through the water and mud and were very messy after it was all over. At one point, when the guide went ahead of us, I attempted to do a doughnut with my 4-wheeler.. but I ended up flipping it over. Although I had a hard time getting it flipped back right-side up and cranking it up again, it was still very worth it

The scenery was absolutely incredible. It had snowed in the mountains a few days earlier and so the tips were still white!

We then got dropped off at Hamner Springs, a town known for its natural thermal pools, and met Vailma in the park for a picnic. She prepared a delicious barbeque for us in the back of her van and we had a lovely lunch.

Katie and I in the little park with the mountains in the background.

After lunch we walked to ther thermal pools. The three hottest pools were sulphur pools and they smelled like sulphur (rotten eggs). They were still really nice to sit in though because the scenery around them was beautiful and it was cold outside, so the hot water felt great!

Courtney and Kaite in one of the pools.

We also got some delicious gelato in Hamner Springs at the Pickled Pig. I got mandarin and lime flavored, so it was very interesting but I loved it!

Vailma finally dropped us back off in Christchurch in the Botanical Gardens so we walked around and took some silly pictures.

We were exhausted after that long day, made pasta for dinner, and went to bed early!